Hawker Beechcraft sees long term growth in Turkey

Hawker Beechcraft (HBC) sees
strong long-term growth prospects for business aviation in Turkey,
following an increase in business air traffic throughout the past year.

HBC’s analysis reveals that
business aircraft deliveries to the region increased by 509% over the
period of 2007-2011 when compared to 2002-2006.

In addition, Turkey, which
saw a 10% increase in foreign direct investment from 2007-2011, experienced a 4% increase in
business flights over the first half of 2012 when compared to the same period
the previous year, rising from an average of 101 flights per day to 105 per
day. Meanwhile, two of its busiest business airports – Sabiha in Istanbul and Esenboga in Ankara – saw business air traffic increase by
65 percent and 20 percent respectively over the same period.

Air traffic within Turkey
comprises of more than two thirds of all business air travel, with an average
of 34 flights per day over the first half of 2012 representing an annual
increase of nine percent.

In March 2012, it was reported
that Turkey
had 34 billionaires – representing 2.9% of the global population – with
a combined wealth of $54.3 billion. Furthermore, it was estimated that in 2011
the Middle East held around 450,000 HNWIs – an
annual increase of 2.7% – with a total wealth of $1.7 trillion.

“Turkey
benefits from its unique geographical situation, straddling both Europe and
Asia, and is fast becoming a hub for business travel,” said Sean McGeough, HBC
president, Europe, Middle East, Africa and
Asia Pacific. “Turkish businesses are able to deal with the more established
Western markets and are also profiting from the high growth rates being
experienced in the Middle East and Asian
economies. As a result, the country is attracting large amounts of foreign
investment interest and creating a lot of personal and corporate wealth.”

McGeough continued: “As the
market leader in our competitive segments in Turkey, we’re in a great place to
take advantage of this and we’ve identified it as one of our key growth markets
in the EMEA region over the next few years.”

HBC displayed three aircraft
at the recent AIREX aviation exhibition in Istanbul; a Hawker 900XP executive jet, a Beechcraft King Air 350ER
and a King Air 250.